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Parking restriction signs were removed when the utility poles were replaced, and haven't been mounted to the new ones.

Utility poles were replaced along a one-block stretch of Wolverleigh Blvd. last July, but the parking restriction signs that were mounted on them have not been replaced, creating a ticket trap for people who park before 10 a.m. (JACK LAKEY / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

When signs telling drivers if it’s okay to park are taken down, you can bet the volume of parking tickets issued on that street will go up.

People rely on street signage to convey vital information about traffic and parking restrictions. Without it, they can only hope that they’re on the right side of the street, or the law.

The city has a responsibility to ensure drivers are given full disclosure about parking rules before the hornets start buzzing the street and issuing tickets. But it doesn’t always happen.

Chris Ullock reported on SeeClickFix that he got a $30 ticket last Saturday for parking on Wolverleigh Blvd. before 10 a.m., but had no idea he was illegally parked, due to an absence of parking restriction signs.

“I was perplexed since I am always very diligent about paying attention to signage, and a quick look up and down the street showed that I hadn’t made a mistake,” said Ullock.

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“I talked to a local resident and he indicated that the utility poles had been replaced back in July. While they have a 40 km/h speed limit sign, the city has not installed any parking signs.

“I don’t mind obeying the rules and paying a penalty when said rules are broken, but when the rules are a mystery it amounts to stealing.”

We went to Wolverleigh and found five new utility poles on the south side of the street, between Woodmount and Woodbine Aves., none of which had parking restriction signs on them.

We drove along the entire length of Wolverleigh and spotted parking signs on every other pole, providing drivers with the information needed to avoid a ticket.

But the only parking sign on the one-block stretch where the poles were replaced was near Woodbine, at the east end of the block.

The absence of signs all the way over to Woodmount makes the street a ticket trap, which no doubt draws predatory parking enforcement officials to Wolverleigh like flies to honey.

STATUS: Allan Pinkerton, who’s in charge of city street signs, said they’ll be replaced ASAP.

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